Miami to Rodriguez Key, FL

Today:          55 miles        8.5 hours          ICW St M “   ”

Total:       1313 miles    195.2 hours                                                                                                    

View to the west

View to the East

     We had light winds as we upped anchor at 8 am.  We went through the channel that cuts through Stiltsville, but I watched a catamaran cut though the one closer to Key Biscayne.  It looks to be a shorter run.  We might try it on our return trip.

      Pete worked for a good part of the morning.  We were hoping to be in better cell reception area before his conference call at 11, but Pete still had problems.  South of Key Biscayne there is no cell service.  When we neared civilization again, he could only get 2 bars of 3G.  It didn’t support the internet and his call was dropped twice. Thankfully, these dead zones are getting fewer and far between.

     There were two interesting calls to the Coast Guard.  In Card Sound, a sailboat wandered into very shallow water.  Another motor boat tried to assist, but it was too shallow.  The South Dade County Police boat couldn’t even get close.  The sailboat decided to stay put until the tide rose to be assisted off. The second was a broadcast to be on the lookout for debris from large house boat with possibly one person in the water.  Closer Key Largo, the site had been located above a reef, 2 miles off shore, in 70 foot of water and checked out by the Coast Guard.  What would a 50-foot house boat be doing out there???

     We dropped anchor around 4:30. Pete didn’t want to anchor any closer to shore due to the water depth.  It meant that he and Bailey had over 1 ½ mile trip to shore and 1 ½ mile trip back.  Before he took Bailey, he transferred the fuel from the cans on deck.  That will definitely get us to Marathon.

     As I prepared dinner, I realized it was an “international” dinner.  I reheated some of John's German pork roast and served it with Rice Pilaf and French Cut string beans.  It was really good!

     Once darkness fully descended, the stars were magnificent!  By 9, there were some clouds that hid some of the stars.

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~ K & P